Anxiety & Well-being

Author:

Jessica Lopez

Mentor:

Virgil Adams, Program Chair and Professor of Psychology, California State University Channel Islands

Anxiety & Well-being
Jessica Lopez, California State University Channel Islands
Mentor: Virgil H. Adams III, Ph.D.
Psychology Program,
California State University Channel Islands
Anxiety is one of the most basic components of human existence, and there is a great deal of research on how it affects our daily lives.
Previous research has concluded that that certain individuals and personality types have a tendency toward heightened levels of anxiety regardless of the situation (Watson & Clark, 1984). Others have similarly proposed that personality traits such as neuroticism or extraversion contribute to overall happiness or lack thereof in a given individual (Costa & McCrae, 1980). The current study expands on this research by examining the role of anxiety and its influence on an individual’s global well-being and quality of life. The report was based on analysis from a sub sample of a larger survey (n = 814) that utilized community participants from Southern California. It was hypothesized that those individuals who were less anxious would have stronger feelings of overall well-being. Our findings were supported in that individuals who scored lower in anxiety also scored higher in global well-being. These results were significant even when controlling for individual income, age, gender, and education.